THREE DIMENSIONAL CONTENT PROJECTION

Number: 20170237975
Published: 2017-08-17
Filed: 2016-02-12
Assignee: Disney Enterprises, Inc.
Inventors: Yang; Bei, Iwanowski; Przemyslaw
CPC: H04N13/398; H04N9/3185; H04N13/366; H04N9/3194
Verdict: High Hardware
Source: Google Patents · FreePatentsOnline

The keeper's note

A projection system that tracks a moving live performer via position/depth sensor and projects visual content onto them in real time, for show effects.

Abstract

The present application relatesgenerally to a projection system and method for projecting content onto a moving performer. In one embodiment, the system includes a projector that projects light onto the performer, a position sensor, such as a camera and/or depth sensor that captures position information about the performer, and a computer that modifies original content based on the position information of the performer. The computer uses the position information to generate amask, such as a silhouette, of the performer, and then modifies the original content based on the mask of the performer. The modified content is then projected by the projector onto the performer.

Background

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a front elevation view of a performance area with a performer.

FIG. 1B is a side elevation view of the performance area of FIG. 1A illustrating a system for projecting content onto the performer.

FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram of the system of FIG. 1B.

FIG. 3 is a method for utilizing the system of FIG. 1B to project content onto the performer.

FIG. 4 is an image of the performer in the performance area of FIG. 1A before the content is projected by thesystem.

FIG. 5A illustrates a first example of a mask used to modify the content for projection onto the performer.

FIG. 5B illustrates a second example of a mask usedto modify the content for projection onto the performer.

FIG. 6A illustrates an image of the performer of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6B illustrates an image of the performer of FIG.4 with the content being projected thereon.

FIG. 7A illustrates an image of unmasked content projected onto a portion of the performer as the performer moves from a first position to a second position.

FIG. 7B illustrates an image of masked content projected onto a portion of the performer as the performer moves from a first position to a secondposition.

FIG. 8 is an image of the performer in the performance area of FIG. 1A with the content being projected onto the performer.SPECIFICATION

The present disclosure is related to a system and method for projecting content ont

Claims

1. A method for modifying content projected onto a moving performer, the method comprising: receiving by one or more processing elements an original content image; receiving by one or more processing elements positional data corresponding the performer; and constraining by one or more processing elements the original content image by a mask, wherein the mask corresponds to the positional data. 5. A method for projecting content onto a performer, comprising: generating by a processing element a mask based on the performer; rendering content by the processing element, wherein a boundary of the content is determined by the mask; and projecting by a projector the content onto the performer. 13. A projection system for projecting content onto a performer, the system comprising: a projector for projecting light onto the performer; a position sensor for capturing position information of the performer; and a computer in electronic communication with the projector and the position sensor, wherein the computer is configured to perform the following operations: receive initial content for projection onto the performer; generate a silhouette of the performer based on the position information from the position sensor; modifythe initial content based on the silhouette of the performer; and provide the modified content to the projector for projection onto the performer; and wherein the projector projects the modified content onto the performer. 19. The projection system of 13, wherein to modify the initial content based on the silhouette of the performer, the computer constrainsa projection area of the initial content to the silhouette of the performer.